The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday initiated searches at 17 places throughout seven states, intensifying its ongoing probe into the (*17*) jail radicalisation case. Currently underway in (*17*) and Tamil Nadu, amongst different states, the search operations are concentrating on places related to people implicated in a terror conspiracy linked to the case.
The investigation stems from the (*17*) Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) Prison radicalisation and conspiracy case, the place on January 12 of this yr, NIA charged eight people. Among these charged are T Naseer from Kerala’s Kannur district, serving a life sentence in (*7*) Central Prison since 2013. Junaid Ahmed (alias JD) and Salman Khan are suspected to have fled the nation, whereas the remaining people, together with Syed Suhail Khan (alias Suhail) and Mohammed Faisal Rabbani (alias Sadath), are going through fees underneath numerous sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosives Substances Act, and the Arms Act.
The case was initially registered by the (*17*) City Police on July 18, 2023, following the seizure of arms, ammunition, hand grenades, and walkie-talkies from seven accused individuals gathered at one in every of their homes. In October 2023, the NIA took over the investigation, revealing that T. Naseer, with a historical past of involvement in blast circumstances, had are available in contact with the opposite accused whereas they have been all lodged in (*17*) Prison in 2017.
Naseer orchestrated the switch of the accused to his barracks, rigorously assessing their potential for radicalisation and recruitment into LeT. He efficiently radicalised and recruited Junaid and Salman, conspiring with Junaid to additional recruit the others.
Junaid, upon launch, is believed to have fled overseas after committing further offenses. The NIA discovered that Junaid, from abroad, started funneling funds to his co-accused to advertise LeT actions each inside and outdoors the jail. He conspired with Salman to ship arms and ammunition, intending to hold out a ‘fidayeen’ assault and facilitate Naseer’s escape from police custody.
Junaid additionally instructed his associates to steal used police caps for the assault and commit arson on authorities buses as a part of a apply run. The plot was thwarted in July final yr when authorities seized arms and different supplies.
The ongoing investigations into the case, guided by Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CrPC), are progressing. The latest raids occurred simply two days after the Ministry of Home Affairs handed over the probe into the Rameshwaram Cafe blast in (*17*) to the NIA. The anti-terror company promptly re-registered the case and initiated an inquiry into the explosion that came about on March 1, injuring a number of folks throughout the busy lunch hour in (*7*) Whitefield space.
